Op-ed;
Two Republicans v. Sanctuary Cities and Gun-Free School
Zones
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor /
Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio
"This is about public safety,
not about politics. We must do everything within our power, and use
all the tools available to us, to ensure that our communities are
safe.”
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on his signing
SB 168: Federal Immigration Enforcement Bill
One of the best votes I ever cast,
short of voting for Donald J. Trump of course, was voting for Ron
DeSantis for Florida governor. A Republican-Conservative like me...as
opposed to a Conservative Republican*...Navy veteran and former
Congressman DeSantis not only ran a campaign based upon honesty,
integrity, accountability, transparency and a true love of country,
but is serving as governor with those very same values fully and unapologetically intact.
And while the actual race for governor
was indeed both contentious and dirty at times via the theatrics of
his socialist-condoning liberal opponent, then candidate Ron DeSantis
held strong to his conservative values and above all else the words
of the Constitution...the very document that nowhere states we must
take into our country those who enter here illegally.
And that conservative focus was clearly
seen when last Friday, now Governor Ron DeSantis fulfilled one key campaign
promise made...to ban sanctuary cities in our state. And with that promise
being a main
talking point in both
his inaugural and his State of the State address, Governor DeSantis
signed into law
Senate Bill 168...the very bill that not only
prevents cities throughout the state of Florida from declaring
themselves as
sanctuary
cities, but actually mandates that all cities and all local
law and state enforcement personnel must cooperate with federal
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in all matters or else face
strict penalties. After all, our governor knows that ICE can't do
their job if our state's local authorities don't do theirs.
Simply, local law enforcement has a
moral and ethical duty let alone the responsibility to report
illegal aliens to ICE otherwise they are just as bad as the illegals
they are protecting.
Now as to
Senate Bill 168
itself...which passed 22-18 in the Senate and 68-45 in the
House...this bill gives the governor himself as well as Attorney
General Ashley Moody the legal authority to
"initiate
enforcement actions" against any city or municipality that
refuses to
detain a person based on
“probable cause”...as
in said person is
deemed under federal immigration law to be a “removable
alien”...as well as its
requiring that any Florida city currently enacting sanctuary policies
must repeal those policies within a specifically designated time frame.
And to this I say many
“kudos”
must go out to Governor DeSantis for it's way passed time that we in
this country face the fact that we do need more governors like
him... governors who will do the right thing as we law abiding
citizens have
had enough of those
who not only come here knowingly and willingly by breaking our laws,
but that those very lawbreakers do not get to stay here at the
expense and on the dime of we true American taxpaying citizens...with “citizens”
first and foremost being the
operative word.
And while
illegals...as well as those who advocate for these lawbreakers...are
a huge problem nationwide, here in South Florida nearly half a
million illegals call our state home, something that will now surely
change. And change it will be no matter that opponents to the just
signed bill...opponents like local immigrants rights groups, the
American Civil Liberties Union, and the American Business Immigrant
Coalition...tried to change and tone down...but thankfully
failed...the bill's strong and direct language saying it was too
broad in scope and would have unintended consequences, yet never
saying what exactly those consequences would be.
But we know the true nature of those consequences... one just has to ask the
family of Kate Steinle and the multitude of other families who have
seen their loved ones murdered by those who had no right being here
in the first place. Remember back to 2015 when Kate Steinle was
killed by an illegal who was in possession of an illegal firearm...an
illegal who had been deported back to Mexico five different
times. And why did Kate die...not because she just happened to be
taking a walk with her father on a beautiful sunny day and was in the
wrong place at the wrong time...but because the San Francisco Police
Department willfully ignored the ICE detainer request to keep her would be
killer in custody until ICE was able to take him into their custody,
and instead chose to released him. Kate Steinle's blood is surely on
the San Francisco PD's hands.
Translation: sanctuary cities are a danger to the “health, safety, and welfare”
of the American people...Governor Ron DeSantis knows this and
acted accordingly to protect we citizens of Florida, and to that
I and so many other Floridians say “thank you.”
Now as
for someone else doing...or at least trying...to do the right thing
enter center stage Rep. Thomas Massie from Kentucky who is
reintroducing the previously failed “Safe Students Act.”
The
“Safe Student Act” is the
bill that if passed would amend the federal criminal code to allow
the repeal of key provisions in the “Gun-Free Schools
Act”...the very act that
currently prohibits teachers and staff from being armed on school
grounds and everyone else from being either in possession of or
discharging a firearm in a school zone...as within 1,000 feet of a
school campus. And if that law were to be repealed security guards,
administrators, teachers, and parents themselves would be able to
protect the students... would be able to protect innocent children
left defenseless inside their own schools...be able to protect them even before
police could arrive on campus if a shooting were to occur.
Seems
like common sense alone should dictate such a repeal especially after
last year's Parkland School massacre...unfortunately Democrats lack
even enough common sense to realize that when an armed citizen is
present gun violence usually has no chance to reach the status of a
mass shooting.
And so
for us on the right, like with our rightful anger surrounding the
issue of sanctuary cities, that same anger has now also focused our
attention on the fact that 98% of public mass shootings happen in
“Gun-Free Zones”...the
very zones killers target because Democrats have with the media's
backing sold the masses on the nonsense that it's the “bad
guns” that kill people and not
the actual killers who pull the gun's trigger. And in their also
trying to make the rest of us believe the fairy tale that
“Gun-Free Zones” will keep
us safe, reality instead shows that countless innocent lives that
need not have been lost are lost because of the time it takes police
to be called and arrive on scene to stop said killers.
Translation:
we need a lot more “good guys” with
guns in order to stop the “bad guys” with
guns from possibly even being able to get one shot off. And when
seconds really do matter a responsible gun owner can indeed save
lives in an active-shooter situation.
So
what are the specifics that would be accomplished by
repealing the 1990 “Gun-Free Schools Act”...an
act that itself was amended in 1996 after the Supreme Court ruled the
first version unconstitutional. Simply, but most importantly,
repealing this proven not to work monstrosity would allow for the
eliminating of the one-size-fits-all federal ban on guns in school
zones, making it easier for both state and local governments as well
as school boards to set their own firearms policies...as it should
have been in the first place.
And why is that...because guns and gun-related issues themselves
are different in nature than most other issues being politicized to
such a degree that folks are drawn into taking diametrically opposing
sides...almost to the same degree as the battle lines are drawn regarding abortion. And we all know that when the federal government
gets directly involved in what should be local and state business
alone any regulatory power the local or state level might have had
gets removed in favor of the feds. And this is what's happened with
the
“Gun-Free Schools Act” where
a federal law has actually put American children's lives in
danger.
And when a state or local government is forced to cede
what power they did have regarding firearms to a federal one-size-fits-all approach to gun violence...an approach
involving but a simple sign declaring a specific place as a
“Gun-Free
Zone”...not only is any
"customized" solutions to gun violence
that might have worked in any specific community been taken away, but
the sheer ludicrisy of it all is the fact that while children in
classrooms are targets ripe for the killing...and with those
ridiculous signs announcing so...the very members in Congress who
passed this ridiculous law are themselves
“packing” to
protect themselves and their families.
Total hypocrisy of the first degree.
And with signs alone misguidedly being used as protection finally
hitting home on the right side of the aisle, know that this is not
the first time a Republican has tried to get this dangerous law
reversed. Back in 2007, Rep. Ron Paul (TX) tried to reverse this law and
failed...but proving once again the old adage that even a broken
clock is right twice a day.
And so Rep. Thomas Massie, the man who said that, “
Gun-free
zones are ineffective and make our schools less safe,” is
stepping up to the legislative plate to try his best to get this
nonsense repealed and he has seven Republican co-sponsors to aid him
in his endeavor including...Reps Justin Amash (MI), Jody Hice (GA),
Jeff Duncan (SC), Matt Gaetz (FL), Louie Gohmert (TX), James Comer
(KY), and Brian Babin (TX). But Rep. Jeff Duncan stated it best when
he said that,
“The only thing gun-free zones do is disarm
law-abiding citizens and take away their ability to protect
themselves and others. We shouldn’t leave our most vulnerable –
our children – in an unsafe environment like gun-free zones where
acts of violence cannot be stopped.”
So with no Democrats on board with this repeal and with the House
being in Democrat hands, know not only will Rep. Massie's call for
repeal fail, but it won’t even be heard in committee and likely
won’t get to vote. And sadly, the violence against our children
will continue on with many more children likely to lose their lives.
But now there's a bit of difference, because with no Democrat support
and with those useless signs most likely remaining in place, any new
blood spilled will be covering Democrats hands.
_________________________________
* The difference between the two is explained in my article Saving 2020 .
Copyright @ 2019 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved.
****************************************************************************************
For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS
partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest
article, The Desperately Obtuse World of Liberalism.
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Friday, June 21st, from 7 to 9pm EST on American Political Radio,
RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig
Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'Two Republicans v. Sanctuary Cities and Gun-Free School Zones'; 'The Desperately Obtuse World of Liberalism'; and important news of the day.
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Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a U.S. drone over the Strait of
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Washington and Tehran.
